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The Lower Macungie Township Environmental Advisory Committee (EAC) held a invasive plant removal event last Saturday at the township Krazter Farm Property on Willow Lane. I stopped by to check it out and learn about the project from EAC Chair Scott Alderfer.

Scott led Scouts and parents from Troop 131 of Wescosville targeting invasive species and replacing them with native plants. Invasive species rapidly spread and outcompete natives. Native species that were planted include winterberry holly, viburnum, spice bush, christmas ferns and mayapple.

The Kratzer Farm is 86 acres located primarily in East Texas bounded by Willow Lane and Lower Macungie Road. The township has owned the property for 15 years. It currently rents much of the the agriculture portion to farmers on 5 year leases. The very successful community garden program is also located on the property. The portion where the Little Lehigh crosses through the farm is a popular fishing spot. In the future according to the master plan the township greenway trail could potentially run through the farm and may include a loop around the property.

EAC and the Boy Scout troop 131 teamed up to tackle invasive species in LMT Credit Ron Beitler

According to Alderfer, the EAC applied for and recieved a 500 dollar matching grant to pay for the costs of the native plants. The EAC is an appointed board of volunteers that makes recommendations to our Board of Commissioners. They are provided a small budget which is used for project implementation and community education.

The EAC has a free educational event coming up this Thursday.  Here’s the link to the flyer.http://www.lowermac.com/library/file/TEMP/EAC Residential Tree Care Event.pdf

For more information about the EAC visit here.
To learn more about the Kratzter Farm.

Development Watch: Indian Creek Subdivision and Macungie Lumber Yard

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The proposed development at old Indian Creek Golf course

Monthly column (or whenever I learn about new proposals) outlining LMT and local projects in various stages and my thoughts on them. This month, 127-129 Main St. a great adaptive reuse of a historic building in Macungie, and an update on the potential Indian Creek Rd. subdivision that has major red flags at this early stage.

127-129 Main St. Macungie – Macungie Borough

Borough Council issued approval for a plan to convert 127-128 Main St. (currently a stone twin) into a mixed use building. The new owner, Tom Bartholomew plans to renovate the old twin which used to be a part of the lumber yard, to accomodate his state farm insurance office on the first floor and 2 small apartments on the 2nd floor. Also planned for the lot are six parking spaces and a rain garden that will mitigate the impervious cover of the blacktop. The environmental component of the plan has been approved by Lehigh Conservation District.

Why great: This is a great project for Main Street. Refurbished/Re-purposed Mixed use buildings with retail/restaurant or office on the 1st level and apartments on the second are what makes a Main St. community thrive. Excellent adaptive use of existing home stock. This will be a welcome addition to the community with the important blessing of the Lehigh Conservation district for handling of the storm water runoff associated with the parking spaces.

I would love to see more retail and restaurant activity on Main St., but this is a good project on the street-side of the old lumber site. Hopefully more good news comes down the line on the remaining portion of the property next to the park which will be a key component of Main St. revitalization in Macungie Borough.

Potential Subdivision of Indian Creek Rd. – Lower Macungie Township, Emmaus Borough and Upper Milford (Former Indian Creek Golf Course)

This is a unique proposal in that it has 2 acres in LMT, 10 acres in the Emmaus and the bulk in Upper Milford for a total of 78 acres. This is the old Indian Creek Golf course. The property is bounded by Chestnut Street, Allen Street, Indian Creek Rd and Cedar Crest. This plan would include 215 homes in a 55+ community. The plan would preserve 9 holes (off Cedar Crest) of the Golf course to continue as a public course.

Why the Jury is still out: While there are some ok elements of this plan for example the 55+ aspect (no impact on school district) and land preservation of 33-48 acres acres, at this point there are major red flags for LMT. Planning commission chair Irv Keister said “while only a few acres (2) of this project are in LMT, it appears we’ll get 100 percent of the traffic”. Basically the constraints of this property force all the traffic either onto Allen St. or Indian Creek Rd. Indian Creek either funnels traffic right into the heart of the township or exits onto the terribly dangerous intersection of Indian Creek and Cedar Crest. (The roller coaster hill) It’s basically one giant cul-de-sac that funnels traffic onto our township roads. Exiting Allen St. onto Chestnut is already a nightmare. This project should absolutely not proceed without installing a light on Allen and Chestnut. This could also possibly trigger another expensive traffic light at Indian Creek and Brookside (across from Dries) in the township. One positive at this early stage is it’s clear the developer is trying to work with the townships/borough to develop this tricky parcel. But there are many hurdles to cross for this iteration of the plan that has little benefit to the township and a ton of negatives.

Next month: Updates on two very different potential developments. 1. Stone Hill Station (potentially good conservation development off Gehman Rd) and 2. The latest on 700 acre Jaindl warehouse/residential/commercial monster currently in litigation with potential gamechanging consequences for the entire township.

Want to join our mailing list highlighting smart growth/development issues in the township? Click Here

Development Watch: Allen Organ Tract/Mixed Use update

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 Tuesday night at the bi-monthly Planning Commission meeting, Remington properties presented an updated version of the ordinance they are proposing to accommodate a mixed use development on the Allen Organ property.

Progress was made toward submitting an ordinance that can be applied at other locations that would be township serving. I appreciated Maury Roberts asking the developer “Why is this project good for Lower Macungie?” This is the fundamental question that should be asked of all proposals submitted to the township.

While progress was made, I was disappointed that much of the meeting was spent on items such as the size and number of parking spaces. While these items are important, my major concern with the original proposal was that it was simply an apartment complex and grocery store ‘smushed’ together on a commercial parcel. I’m still unsure if the ordinance goes far enough to aggressively promote the positive outcomes of mixed use, but progress was certainly made. Some of these outcomes are:

  • Pedestrian scale on the residential side – And if not truly centered on the commercial side then far more pedestrian friendly then any shopping center currently in the township.
  • Attractive design – Including significant architectural quality and site design amenities
  • Connectivity – Integration in a meaningful & functional way of the commercial and residential portions

PC member Tom Beil asked an important question about compatible uses. If the ordinance allows for auto-centric uses such as gas stations, drive-throughs and garages ect., then it completely defeats the purpose and undermines the goals and represents more of the same.

The target market for this project is the 20-35 year old professional. That was made clear. Ok goodand very important considering the current enrollment in EPSD.  You have to go all-in to attract this demographic when competing against trendy projects closer to urban cores. (Riverport for ex.) If this is truly targeting the 20-35 market then the priorities are markedly different and the thinking has to reflect that. There are subtle differences in thinking for say an over 55 or mass market community that are different then this particular niche.

I think trade offs over number of parking spaces in exchange for design standards, open space and surface parking lots  that are shielded or behind residential buildings are worthwhile. I was also happy to see the commission stick to it’s guns regarding density. 6-8 units per acre is appropriate for our suburban township. Also a common sense proposal was made to allow for future parking considerations on an ‘as needed basis’ instead of requiring more up-front impermeable surface lots. Once land is paved, it’s paved. This was a good compromise.

I mentioned in my last blogpost about this site… Lip service is no longer good enough. If we’re going the smart growth route we need a complete buy-in. Anything less is just more of the same and won’t generate the outcomes we need.

Other news:

The board voted to move forward with reviewing the comprehensive plan. This will include possible inclusion of smart growth concepts across the board as outlined in the townships 20/20 visioning document. This is great news! They made a point to encourage public participation in this review.

Smart Growth Alternative to Warehouses on Prime Farmland

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I’m outspoken in my criticism of the township supporting warehouse development.

My reasons are many. This type of development represents more unsustainable growth for our suburban township. It affects our quality of life (tractor trailer traffic on local residential roads not designed to handle it), and it’s the least environmentally friendly development possible considering paving over of regionally significant farmland.

I’ve been asked before a very valid question. If not here then where? Came across an article today that shows in practice what has been my reponse. We have significant brownfields locally. The old Mack Truck plant in Allentown and remaining Steel property in Bethlehem are examples.This is where distribution centers and warehouses belong. What’s best for the region? Not what puts the most money in certain developers pockets.

A great example of Brownfield redevelopment locally, the planned Majestic distribution hub located near the Hellertown exit of Rt. 78 is an excellent example of where this type of development should be encouraged. This is a great project for not only Bethlehem but the entire region.

Description:

Majestic Distribution Hub – 800,000 foot facility on undeveloped former Bethlehem Steel property. This area has existing infrastructure already well on the way to being able to handle increased truck traffic.

Some of the major benefits of building on this existing brownfield:

  • Adaptive reuse of a former industrial facility from a previous era. Great example of smart growth principle in practice.
  • The ideal location next to the intermodel cuts down on drayage.
  • Direct access to I-78.
  • The building will have LEED & US-EPA Smartway Transport Design certification.
  • Direct accessibility and access to labor. This is where jobs are needed!
    • According to the NJ Institute of Technology, executives interviewed note increasing difficulties in recruiting and retaining workforces for facilities. Brownfield sites provide better access to labor markets because of location. Brownfield sites tend to be located in more developed, urbanized locations, with greater access to the region’s transit system and labor pools

Macungie Borough Explores Historic Preservation Ordinance

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Singmaster Home, Macungie PA
Now the Liberty Savings Bank, excellent example of rehabilitation and adaptive reuse of historic buildings

A zoning amendment limiting the demolition of historical buildings built prior to 1940 is being proposed in the borough.

This is policy I believe is necessary to foster a revitalized downtown area. Historical preservation is proven to make boroughs more attractive to local businesses. Preservation should be a focus to enable a community to remain attractive, compact and walkable.

By fostering these characteristics rather then mimicking suburbia, the town’s uniqueness and charm is preserved allowing it to compete with sprawling suburban retail/commercial.

Macungie’s density, character, walkability and charm are assets that differentiate it from the sprawling void of strip malls in the township.

I get nervous when elected officials cite landowner rights as a catch-all in opposition to useful progressive policies as I heard at the Feb. 6 council meeting.

I’m a fairly conservative guy politically, however, I think the benefits of encouraging a revitalized downtown by protecting historical assets is clear.

It’s common practice to use zoning ordinances to regulate development in the best interest of the community. This amendment does not put an uneccesary burden on property owners and does not limit necessary maintenance and repair. The amendment also accounts for the Zoning Hearing Board to grant special exceptions for extenuating circumstances.

This simply prohibits demolition. Furthermore, it’s meant to “encourage continued use, appropriate rehabilitation and adaptive reuse of historic buildings.”

A perfect example is the Singmaster home now occupied by Liberty Savings Bank. Certainly if someone were to come in and propose demolition of this building, it would be a tragic loss to the community. The plan is to preserve the home while expanding the back of the property to create a full service bank. This is excellent use of an existing property of historic value focusing on maintaining it’s character. It is my understanding that at one time a developer inquired about the land with the intent to demolish the building. This would have been a tragic loss of a valuable asset and landmark.

I am a resident of LMT. I am also a business owner on Main St. in the borough. I believe in regional planning and consider Macungie the Main Street of the broader community including the township. As a business owner looking to find a permanent home for our studio (we currently rent our space on Main) this is exactly the kind of policy I look for when considering locations, and communities to invest in.

If a borough isn’t interested in investing in itself, why would a business owner invest in it?

Township is planning a Greenway!

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The LMT greenway project team had another public meeting Tuesday Jan.17.

The purpose of the meeting was a progress update as part of a planning commission workshop. For those who might not be aware, the greenway project is a township-wide initiative to create a combined linear park “greenway” and trail along the length of the Little Lehigh and Swabia creeks. The project would total about 20 miles in length including the 6-mile Swabia and 14-mile Little Lehigh sections.

The potential benefits of a trail network are numerous, and include the linking of communities within the township to each other and various points of interest such as schools, parks, historical sites and shopping centers. This bike-able/walkable trail would also potentially increase the land value of adjacent properties.

Also in terms of the greenway, the naturalization of areas surrounding the creeks is beneficial environmentally and also to eliminate areas the township currently spends money maintaining. Returning the creekside area to it’s natural environment with a riparian buffer would have positive impacts on flooding issues, in addition to buffering the creek from neighboring land uses. The Little Lehigh is a crucial component of the local water supply.

So far, maps have been presented for public comment in addition to a public opinion poll that took place in October of 2011. The maps presented indicate a potential routing of the trail system including various opportunities and constraints. You can view the maps and opinion poll here on the township greenway plan website. The beginning of major trail construction is likely several years out as the project is only now in the master planning stage.

As for funding this project, the township has received a grant award of $40,000 from the PA Dept. of conservation and Natural Resources. The township also just received a second grant of $40,000 from DCNR to expand the scope of work to include a Park and Recreation master plan.

KMS design group is working with the township in creation of the master plan.